Highland Lakes Steward
May 2013 MISSION
The Texas Master
Naturalist program is a
natural resource-based
volunteer training and
development program
sponsored statewide
by Texas A&M AgriLife
Extension and the Tex-
as Parks and Wildlife
Department.
The mission of the
program is to develop
a corps of well-
informed volunteers
who provide education,
outreach, and service
dedicated to the bene-
ficial management of
natural resources and
natural areas within
their communities for
the state of Texas
OFFICERS
President Linda O’Nan
(830) 693-6126
Vice-President
Pat Campbell
pat.campbell
@dishmail.net
(512) 715-0176
Secretary
Barbara Booth
boothbarbara
@hotmail.com
(512) 470-5534
Treasurer
Phillip Mitchell
phillipmitchell
@gmail.com
(830) 693-0184
HIGHLAND LAKES CHAPTER
Volume 4, Issue 5
WEATHER OR NOT By Linda O’Nan
This spring has been a series of weather
“events”. Colder than normal temperatures
have been sweeping through regularly, al-
lowing us to enjoy an extended spring. Un-
fortunately, along with these extremes, tor-
nadoes, hail, and strong winds have pum-
meled our trees and gardens. Many of our
fellow naturalists withstood devastating hail
a few weeks ago, and we certainly hope they
are on their way to recovery. The damage
to trees and landscape plants will take more
time. Despite an extended drought, we
have had enough winter rains to bring on an
abundance of wildflowers. Don’t you just
love to see what unfolds each day? Despite
all Mother Nature dishes out, we have a lot
to be grateful for here in Central Texas.
We had a mild winter and were able to en-
joy our many outdoor activities and educa-
tional programs. GOP at Inks Lake State
Park this year, thanks to the leadership of
Terry Bartoli and a massive volunteer effort
from our members, was a huge success.
Several days each week gave us summer-like
shorts weather, and when cool fronts blew
through, some of the coldest temperatures
ever for GOP! Thanks to all for persevering
through. What a great group of folks. Also,
special thanks to the Inks Lake State Park
staff, particularly Terry Young, Chris Hall,
Stefan, and Sean Jones for their efforts in
the overwhelming success of the aquatics
station. The squeals of the kids from the
splashing fish could be heard all over the
park!
We would like to welcome our soon-to-
be graduates from the 2013 class. What a
valuable addition to our chapter—you all
will be major contributors to our success. I
think the camaraderie we have as a chapter
keeps us all motivated because we have so
much fun together. We’ve got some great
projects coming up for you to get involved
in. HOP at the Inks Dam National Fish
Hatchery will provide fun educational sta-
tions on multiple days similar to GOP.
Contact Phil Wyde if you would like to get
involved. On May 25 at the “Carry the
Load” celebration at Reveille Peak Ranch,
there will be nature activities provided by
the UHLNC, along with the opening of the
new nature center trails. Get in touch with
Billy Hutson if you would like to participate.
Also, we hope to get the Inks State Park
wildlife viewing station off the ground in mid
-June. Watch for notices from Jerry Stacy
and Ed Myatt for updates. Don’t forget the
Burnet Co. Fair on June 15—HLMN will
have a booth featuring our Watershed Ex-
hibit. Sammye Childers needs lots of help-
ers for shifts throughout the day. We need
you! Don’t let our upcoming Texas heat scare
you off from the fun stuff our chapter has
planned for the summer. The field trip to
Junction is coming up in early June. There
will be a day outing to the Govt. Canyon
State Natural Area sometime in July. Of
course, there is still time to join up for the
Caddo Lake excursion in September. I think
we need some more “Swamp People”! An-
yway, cancel the cruise to Tahiti, the lodge
in Banff, and the wildlife viewing trip to De-
nali—there is plenty to do right here, with
people who love you….! Bring on the sum-
mer (and the cold adult beverages). You
know we do have four seasons—early sum-
mer, mid summer, late summer and NEXT
summer! See y’all later. Can’t wait.
Page 2 Highland Lakes Steward
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Weather or Not Linda O’nan
1
April Meeting Pat Campbell
2
June Meeting Notice Pat Campbell
2
Friends of UHNLC Billy Hutson
3
Black and White Warbler Joanne Fischer
4
2013 Great Outdoors Program Terri Bartoli
5
Gallery Sue Kersey and Jerry Stone
6
MAY MEETING by Pat Campbell
Photos by Jerry Stone
The next meeting will be back at the Methodist
Church in Marble Falls on Wednesday, June 5 at 1:00.
We have a treat in store as Flo Oxley, adjunct profes-
sor of biology at Austin Community College will be
our speaker. Most of us have heard her before, and
she is always entertaining as well as informative. I
believe her topic will be dealing with plant conserva-
tion. Lunch will be at Francescas at 11:30. This will
be our last meeting until August so let's all try to be
there! See you at Francescas!
JUNE MEETING by Pat Campbell
Please submit pictures, articles, reports, stories, an-
nouncements, etc. to
Photos should have captions and appropriate credits.
The deadline for submissions to each month’s newsletter
is the 10th of the month and publication will be by the
15th.
A big thanks to the Lilley's for
having us last month. It was a great
day and nice to be outside for a
change. For those who missed it,
you missed a fun day as well as a lot
of great information.
Page 3 May 2013 Volume 4, Issue 5
FRIENDS OF THE UPPER HIGHLAND LAKES NATURE CENTER
(UHLNC) by Billy Hutson
We had 90 kids/adults from the
5th grade Marble Falls class at the
nature center for a field day on
Thursday 4/11 followed the next day
by 26 kids and some adults from a
home school group. It was a busy two
days but with help of Andrea Roach,
Helen Smith, Pat Campbell and Susan
Morgan, we survived. Andrea orga-
nized the class from M.F.'s and Gabe
Jones organized the home school
group. The kids had fun and learned a
lot about nature.
The second water tank was de-
livered and put into place by the mot-
ley crew of Mike Childers, Bob
Whaley George Brugnoli and me.
This will be the water education
building and will be part of the per-
manent structures along with the Ge-
ology building already in place. Both
need to be retrofitted for their use in
the coming months.
Our fence is almost finished with
one or two days max to complete
thanks to the nature strippers.
One last mention of our grand
opening of the nature center trails on
Saturday May 25th. There will be
thousands of people attending the
memorial day event at RPR and we
will take advantage of the crowd by
ushering the families with kids onto
the trails for a nature adventure
through 12 exciting stations. The mili-
tary/law enforcement exhibitions are from 11 am to 1 pm and the trail stations will follow. Go to http://
www.rprtexas.com/ and scroll down to May 25th for information.
More people are getting excited about the nature center every week. We now have 114 members and
enough construction material to build four or five satellite buildings. Work is progressing for the funds for the
main building since we received our 501(C)(3) status and the advent of the Carry the Load event on May 25th.
Try to take the time to join the 35 or 40 members that are volunteering that day to come and enjoy our
opening with your kids, grandkids and friends.
Page 4 Highland Lakes Steward
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER By Joanne Fischer
Although there are about 50 species of wood war-
blers in North America, very few breed in Texas and
fewer yet in the Hill Country. Wood warblers are of
the family Parulidae and are small to medium-sized
songbirds that are very active and often brightly col-
ored. Because they are insectivorous birds, they are
partial to wooded habitats and characteristically, they
have short, slender, pointed bills.
The Black-and-white Warbler is one of the Hill
Country breeding warblers (along with the Golden-
cheeked Warbler, the Northern Parula and the Louisi-
ana Waterthrush). It was once called the little “black-
and-white creeper” because of its specialized foraging
habits. With a longer, decurved bill and strong legs and
claws the Black-and-white Warbler forages by trunk-
creeping. It creeps along the bark of tree trunks and
large branches, gleaning insects, caterpillars and spi-
ders in a fashion similar to nuthatches. In fact, its
shape and behavior is so similar to that of a nuthatch
that it can be mistaken for one if all one sees is the
profile. It is the only North American warbler to feed
this way. The Black-and-white Warbler actually has an
unusually long hind toe and claw on each foot and it is
this adaptation that allows it to move securely both up
and down the tree bark surfaces.
The Black-and-white Warbler ranges across east-
ern North American, from Canada to the Gulf States
and winters from the Gulf southward through Mexico,
the West Indies and into northern South America.
The Black-and-white Warbler is streaked black and
white all over. Its crown has a central white streak
bordered by two black streaks. The male has a black
throat and its underparts have bold black stripes while
the female (and immatures) have dull whitish or gray
chins and throat and underparts with gray streaks.
The Black-and-white Warbler is one of the first of
the warblers to return from the tropics in the spring.
Because it forages for insects on the bark of trees, it
has no need to wait until the trees have leafed out. It
nests in mature and second-growth deciduous and
mixed forests. Despite the fact that it forages for food
high in trees and shrubs, the Black-and-white Warbler
builds its nest on the ground at the base of a tree or
shrub, concealing it under fallen leaves or branches.
The nest is an open cup of dry leaves, grass, bark and
pine needles, lined with fine grasses and moss and can
be almost impossible to detect. The female lays four
or five white to creamy eggs speckled with brown.
The female incubates the eggs which hatch in about 10
days. Both parents then feed the young which leave
the nest in 10 – 12 days. Unfortunately, the Black-and-
white Warbler is a frequent Cowbird host.
When seeking a Black-and-white Warbler remem-
ber to look along the trunk and branch surfaces, ver-
sus looking for a bird hidden in the leaves!
Page 5 May 2013 Volume 4, Issue 5
Another Great Outdoors Program is now in the
books! No one is sure how many years this has been
held, but my best estimate is that this was it’s 16th year.
It’s grown a lot over those years from a small games-
oriented program to one in which a lot of age-
appropriate information is presented in an informative
and entertaining format.
This year we had 530 students and 227 parents and
guests taken through the program. The program was
supported by 55 members of HLMN along with Ricky
Garcia and his wife at the Native American station.
Each station got a facelift this year to better inform the
1st graders and smooth the flow of the day. Cathy Hill
added a popular feature this year by creating
“Passports” for each of the students. I believe she sin-
gle handedly assembled almost 650 of the passports
that were given to each student, who then had their
passport stamped at the conclusion of the program at
each station. We quickly found out the kids got very
attached to their passports and were anxious to take
them home to show their families.
We had one of the coldest days of weather that
we’ve had this year, as well as one of the largest (7
classes) and smallest (2 classes) groups since anyone
can remember. But each day went off with no major
hitches!
To the great group of folks who made this a success
this year, I want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU! It’s
really wonderful to see folks support such a great pro-
gram!
GREAT OUTDOORS PROGRAM 2013 ANOTHER SUCCESS by Terry Bartoli Photos by Sue Kersey
Page 6 Highland Lakes Steward
GALLERY by Sue Kersey
Hummer on nest
Scissor-tail flycatcher Ruby-crowned kinglet
Screech owl
Great Egret
Page 7 May 2013 Volume 4, Issue 5
GALLERY By Jerry Stone
Purple Bindweed (Ipomoea trichocarpa) taken 5/3/2013
at Enchanted Rock
Rockrose (Helianthemum georgianum) taken 5/3/2013
at Enchanted Rock
Fox-Glove (Penstemon Cobaea) taken
5/3/2013 near Cave Creek. Notice
the filaments of the four stamens are
curved and rigid in order to prevent
the corolla tube from collapsing as
they are pollinated by large bees. The
long style sticks out past the lip of the
corolla.
Scudders Bush Katydid Nymph taken 4/27/2013 in
Horseshoe Bay
Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella) taken 4/30/2013 near
Granite Shoals
Page 8 Highland Lakes Steward
GALLERY By Jerry Stone
Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa) taken
5/1/2013 in Horseshoe Bay
Prickly Pears (Opuntia macrorhiza) of various colors taken 5/4/2013 in Horseshoe Bay
Giant Spiderwort (Commelina erecta) taken 5/3/2013
at Enchanted Rock